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Sunday, October 20, 2002

By Ed Bouchette, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

Randy Moss is catching more passes and enjoying it less.

The Randy Rules, in which Coach Mike Tice ordered his quarterback to throw 40 percent of his passes to Moss, haven't quite worked as planned.

Moss has 36 receptions but just 318 yards, an average of 8.8 yards per catch, more like a tight end than the game's most feared receiver. Last season, he averaged 15 yards per catch, the lowest of his career.

Tice somehow thinks it's working.

"I said it in camp: 'We're going to play boring football,' and we are," Tice said. "Tough. That's the way it is. The explosive days of Vikings football are over."

So are the winning ways. The Vikings are 1-4.

A bunch of junk

Not much has gone right for the Vikings this season. It's a good thing they play Detroit twice.

Before Minnesota beat the Lions last week for its first victory after starting out 0-4 for the first time since 1967, the Vikings had their open date. The organization held a garage sale at the team's headquarters, where the public could pick up bargains on used exercise equipment, furniture, books, jerseys and helmets.

The proceeds would not go to a charity but into the pocket of owner Red McCombs, who is trying to sell the team.

Well, the garage sale did not draw much of a crowd, so the Vikings scheduled another. In the meantime, they stored all the items not bought in their indoor practice facility. When it rained on the Monday after their open date, the Vikings moved inside. There, they found one end zone piled up with desks, cabinets, old TVs and all kinds of used junk . Everything had a price tag, including six cases of after-shave at 25 cents a bottle.

Saints alive; what about fans?

The New Orleans Saints might be off to one of the fastest starts in franchise history with a high-wire offense, but their fans have been slow to notice the 5-1 team.

Even though they play San Francisco today, the Saints had a hard time selling out the Superdome.

"I try not to get involved in ticket sales but I think it's important for us to have a sellout and a loud crowd," Coach Jim Haslett said. "We're trying to win some games, and we want to have our fans behind us. We have to have a home-field advantage."

Said quarterback Aaron Brooks, "I don't understand it. We're off to a great start, the best in years. For the game to not be sold out is mind-boggling."

Fond of Philly

Coach Jon Gruden, whose Buccaneers play the Eagles today, got his first offensive coordinator's job in Philadelphia in 1995. The Eagles finished in the top five in the league on offense in two of his three years on the job.

"This is a pretty cool place down here," Gruden told a Philadelphia writer last week. "It's different. It's a lot different than going over the Walt Whitman every morning and hearing, 'Hey, there's that Gruden guy. You dipstick.' How big Philadelphia Eagle football was in that city was really exciting."

Quick slants

Lions personnel director Bill Tobin on rookie Joey Harrington: "I wouldn't trade him for any quarterback in the league right now."

This is the first time Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith has gone six consecutive games without 20 carries.

The Eagles have thrown the ball 144 times and run it just 45 in the first half of their five games. That's 76.2 percent.

Philadelphia hasn't lost two games in a row since the third week of the 2000 season. They are coming off a loss and a bye.

Red zone magic: Through six games last season, the Saints scored 12 touchdowns and kicked 17 field goals. Through six games this season, they've scored 19 touchdowns and kicked nine field goals.